Tag: nj gaming
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Destiny 2’s Exotics Are Changing in Upcoming Update

Fans of those rare bright yellow orbs will be excited to hear that Bungie is hard at work fixing some of the issues players had with Destiny 2’s Exotics. The company recently revealed how it plans to update the game with the next patch expected in March. They did this in the latest Bungie Weekly Update where Senior Designer, Jon Weisnewski, said the tuning of Destiny 2’s Exotics is focused on “adding and/or increasing player Power spikes.” The blog post explained that while all items were being considered, special focus is being put on low usage items. Ultimately the company wants to “lean into an item’s established gameplay and push it harder” while avoiding “catch-all improvements that dilute item identity.”

In order to deepen players understanding, Weisnewski offered the Graviton Lance as an example, going on to say that feedback on the weapon is positive on a cosmetic level but it is not a viable weapon for getting kills in various PVP scenarios. To fix this, Bungie is reducing the recoil of the first burst while also introducing new aim assist measures and changing the three shot burst to a two-round burst.

Math Offers An Edge

“This still plays into the fantasy of a low-damage gravity-neutralizing round forming a projectile tunnel for the last bullet,” he said. “It also allows us to ensure the damage per burst is at a competitive level for PVP engagements. In fact, it gives Graviton a slight mathematical edge against other pulse rifles.” (http://bit.ly/2sAaVIb)

According to Weisnewski, this is only one of the ways Destiny 2’s Exotics are changing. Currently, the weapons not being eyed for updates are Merciless, Telesto, Wardcliff Coil, MIDA Multi Tool, Colony, Legend of Acrius, and Vigilance Wing. Bungie decided that these weapons already encapsulated the feeling they wanted the players to have when using one of these ultra-rare weapons.

Some Gear Gets a Touch Up

“We’ll be touching a lot of powerful gear with this update and to truly understand the impact for players requires a lot of design iteration and test time,” Weisnewski said. “It isn’t enough to crank up the damage and run one strike or Crucible match with a gun and helmet and move on. Dialing in the right amount of power, testing in all activities with all types of load outs, finding the bugs, fixing the bugs, updating the perk description text to reflect new behaviour, and then handing that off to localization for translation–it’s a ton of work, but we’re up to it. We sincerely appreciate your patience. I believe it will be worth the wait.” (http://bit.ly/2sAaVIb)

As Bungie has previously detailed on Destiny 2’s roadmap, these changes are expected to go into effect on March 27th when both the Sandbox and Crucible update are launched as part of patch 1.1.4. Right now players can still take part in the Valentines day event, Crimson Days, which adds a 2v2 Crucible playlist. Those that take part have the chance to get there hands on a variety of new loot specific to the limited time event.

Nintendo Switch Lifecycle May Extend Past 5-6 Years

The lifecycle of a typical console is around 5-6 years. With a few exceptions, this has been the standard for the big three video game companies Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. Although Nintendo now believes that their latest addition to the console market, the Nintendo Switch, could potentially be around longer than previously expected.

During an investor Q&A, Nintendo’s Sigeru Miyamoto expressed that he believes the Nintendo Switch could be around longer due to the unprecedented hybrid nature of the console. He also feels that Nintendo’s efforts to create unique and original content for the platform could keep it on store shelves for years to come.

The Nintendo Switch Breakthrough

“When you think about what can be done with the Nintendo Switch as a device that can be taken on the go and that every person has in their hands to play, you realize it has many features not available on any other hardware to date,” Miyamoto said. “Nintendo also has a system in place whereby the software developers focus on these hardware features in their development efforts for the continuation of the Nintendo Switch business.” (http://bit.ly/2CeDsCZ)

Miyamoto went on to say “Up until now, the hardware lifecycle has trended at around five or six years, but it would be very interesting if we could prolong that life cycle, and I think you should be looking forward to that.” (http://bit.ly/2CeDsCZ)

Nintendo director Shinya Takahashi added that the company had junior level developers working closely with higher management to create a multitude of interesting products that are both fun to play and can reach a wide audience.

Nintendo Changing The Game

“Behind the unceasing stream of Nintendo Switch software releases to date is an approach to development that concentrates on development, itself the fruit of efforts several years ago to integrate the software development teams, which has made it easier to organize teams.” (http://bit.ly/2CeDsCZ)

To give some perspective, Nintendo released their previous console, the Wii U back in 2012 and ended production in January 2017. The Switch launched in March 2017 and already outsold the Wii U’s lifetime sales in a 10 month period. If Miyamoto’s beliefs hold true, the company could have the console on the market until 2023 or beyond.

As of now, some of Nintendo’s biggest IP’s already made its way to the console with plenty more on the way. The company previously stated that they want to see all of their games come to the Switch, but the biggest fans are holding out for word on a new Animal Crossing and Super Smash Bros. Hopefully, the console’s popularity doesn’t falter and the community can continue to enjoy this system for as long as Nintendo sees it is a contender.

Microtransactions Pay Off Big For Activision Blizzard

Microtransactions are a huge source of revenue for the video game publisher Activision Blizzard. The company announced today in an earnings report that revenue from “in-game net bookings,” which contains DLC sales, loot boxes, and in-app purchases on mobile games, reached $4 billion in 2017. The fourth quarter alone secured the company $1 billion for additional content sold.

Around $2 billion of Activision Blizzard’s revenue in 2017 came from in-game net booking’s in their mobile subsidiary, King, which owns and operates Candy Crush. The other $2 billion came from Activision Blizzard’s console and PC efforts, along with the rest of their mobile ventures like Hearthstone. These two revenue streams were pointed out by Daniel Ahmad, an industry analyst, on Twitter.

It’s worth noting that around $2 billion of that is indeed from King’s mobile games such as Candy Crush.

But that still leaves another $2 billion from console and PC games add on content.

More Games, More Money

Call of Duty: WWII offers microtransactions that give players their own in-game currency, Call of Duty Points. These points can then be used to purchase in-game items like loot boxes that net players cosmetics for their avatars. Additionally, Activision recently launched the first paid DLC pack, Resistance, which is being sold at $14.99 USD. In Overwatch, players spend their money on loot boxes that offer a variety of different skins and other cosmetic items. World of Warcraft also offers a vast in-game economy allowing players to spend real-world money on mounts, pets, and a host of other items.

The Trend Continues

Microtransactions are a growing trend throughout the gaming industry with many companies jumping on the bandwagon. EA recently suffered serious backlash with their title Star Wars Battlefront II, which players believed contained a very hostile microtransaction system.

Not every modern game contains a microtransaction system. However, it is becoming a major profit earner and difficult to ignore for many businesses in the industry. Especially when Activision Blizzard was able to put up numbers like the $4 billion in revenue earned. Hopefully, gamers can continue to fight toxic systems like the one EA tried to put in place and show developers what a proper loot box structure should look like.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Gets Yet Another Release Date

Rockstar Games, the studio behind the beloved Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, confirmed that the latest installment of their wild west shooter will release on October 26th, 2018. This latest announcement comes from the Rockstar Games Blog where the company was quick to apologize for the most recent delay. Initially, the game was slated for a Spring 2018 release but according to Rockstar the extra time will help them fine tune the experience.

The Official Word

The blog post reads “We are excited to announce that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on October 26th 2018. We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay. While we had hoped to have the game out sooner, we require a little extra time for polish.” Continuing, “We sincerely thank you for your patience and hope that when you get to play the game, you will agree the wait will have been worth it. In the meantime, please check out these screenshots from the game. We look forward to sharing a lot more information with you in the coming weeks.” (http://bit.ly/2DTRI9I)

Rockstar has previously detailed that Red Dead Redemption 2 will follow the protagonist Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde Gang as they get into a variety of mischievous deeds all along the brutal land that was the great American West. The game will release for both the Xbox One and PS4 but as of now, the studio has not announced a PC version.

The Wild West Is Alive In GTA Online

GTA Online recently played a big role in getting fans excited for the upcoming release with determined players quickly finding references to Red Dead related secret missions after a recent update to the game. All players of GTA Online received an in-game email that pointed them in the direction of a new mission that when completed unlocked the Double-Action Revolver.

It is always unfortunate to hear a highly anticipated game is being delayed, but these push backs are very necessary in an industry where polish makes all the difference. Gigamax Games is looking forward to Red Dead 2 so be sure to check back for all the latest information surrounding the game as the release date draws closer!

Anthem From BioWare Gets “Delayed” Until 2019

Unfortunate news for anyone excited about the upcoming action RPG, Anthem. Gamers are going to have to wait an extra year for the ambitious title to come out. Anthem was initially slated to be released in 2018 but now the game that shares many qualities with Destiny will release in 2019. EA confirmed the delay in their quarterly earnings calls with investors. Although, BioWare is claiming that this move is not a delay.

Right before the call, EA spoke with the Wall Street Journal, confirming a recent report from Kotaku that claimed Anthem was delayed. While speaking with the Wall Street Journal, EA’s CFO Blake Jorgensen said that this was not actually a delay, but when the game was supposed to come out all along, going on to state that people were “just trying to make a story.” However, this story doesn’t seem to be line up because the company had previously slated the game to release on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2018.

The World Needs Details

EA did not go into further detail into why their latest IP is now expected to drop in 2019. The initial Kotaku report claims that it was due in part to issues with development. Their statement to Wall Street Journal seems to suggest that BioWare instead wants to wait for a less saturated period for their launch window. Their earnings report made no mention of the news either, so it seems they are sticking to their guns continuing to insist it was not a delay.

In other Anthem news the executive producer behind Dragon Age, Mark Darrah recently confirmed he had joined the project, maintaining his role as executive producer. BioWare has recently gone through a ton of restructuring after the critically frowned upon launch of Mass Effect: Andromeda. While there’s not much hope we’ll hear about an Anthem release date anytime soon, we’ll be sure to deliver all the latest news surrounding the game so be sure to check back for more information.

Monster Hunter: World to get Street Fighter 5 Content

Fans of the latest Monster Hunter release will be excited to find out that Capcom is offering Street Fighter 5 crossover content for Monster Hunter: World. The DLC will let players earn armor skins that will have them looking like the Street Fighter characters Ryu and Sakura. The update announced on the Capcom Unity Blog detailed that players with a Street Fighter 5 save file will also be able to take on the Ryu quest before everyone else.

It’s Almost Here

“In just a few weeks, we’ll be featuring the quest to get Ryu’s set as an exclusive early opportunity to PS4 players that also have a save data file from Street Fighter V (including Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition),” Capcom explained in the blog post. (http://bit.ly/2DSERnj)

Players that have the save data will receive a quest “Down the Dark, Muddy Path.” After hunters take on the hunt, they will receive “SFV Tickets” as a reward. These tickets are to be taken to the Smithy along with a variety of other materials found in the wild to fashion themselves the Ryu armor set.

No Street Fighter? No Problem!

Capcom explained that those without the Street Fighter data won’t have to wait much longer for the DLC. While the armor set will go back into rotation soon, a specific date has yet to be announced by the developer. When the time comes, two new event quests will be added to the rotation which will let all players earn the Ryu and Sakura armor on both PS4 and Xbox One.

Along with the character models, Capcom is including a bunch of premium gestures and chat stamp sets to purchase. This set will feature the iconic Hadoken and Shoruken. All of the prices are listed below.

Guild Card: Bonus Stage (Free)

Achievements: Rival, Destined, Living Legend and Bandana Girl (Free)

Pose: Shoryuken & Hadoken (Free)

Gesture: Street Fighter V Hadoken ($3.99)

Gesture: Street Fighter V Shoryuken ($3.99)

Stamp Set: Street Fighter V Set – ($1.99)

This DLC will be the second crossover between the two Capcom titles. Street Fighter V recently received Monster Hunter skins for some of their fighters to celebrate the launch of Monster Hunter: World.

Capcom seems to be fully supporting Monster Hunter: World and hopefully this means we’ll be seeing many more crossovers in the future. We here at Gigamax Games are big fans of Monster Hunter: World so check back soon for all the latest updates for the game.

Sea of Thieves Closed Beta Begins

Today (1/24/18) marks the start of Microsoft’s closed beta for the upcoming pirate simulator, Sea of Thieves. Eligible players for the trial can download the game now so the minute it’s available, they can start playing.

Much like the technical alpha held back in December, the closed beta is restricted to those that entered the Sea of Thieves Insider Program before December 1st or have pre-ordered the title. Xbox One players that already bought the game digitally can find the beta waiting in the ‘My Games and Apps’ section while those who pre-ordered on PC will find it waiting in their library. If you reserved a physical copy at your local retailer, you will need the redeem the code for the Black Dog cosmetic pack on the Microsoft or Xbox store before installing the beta. Xbox One owners should expect a file size of 7.45 GB. If you’d like to read more about the installation process, check out their official website.

When You Can Play

The Sea of Thieves closed beta will begin at 4 AM PT / 7 AM ET / 12 PM GMT on January 24 and runs until 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET / 8 AM GMT on January 29. While the developer, Rare, hasn’t specified what exactly players can expect from the beta, they did say it would not be a portion of the full game. Rare did assure that it would offer a taste of the pirate life.

Sea of Thieves is set to release for both Xbox One and PC on March 20th and will be one of the few games to offer cross-play between the two platforms. It will also be the first game on the Xbox One’s Games Pass program that is available on the service the same day it comes out.

Gigamax Games will be taking part in the closed beta so please don’t forget to check on Youtube or below for an inside look into what Sea of Thieves has to offer!

New Overwatch Skins are Around the Corner

Tomorrow marks the launch of Blizzard’s latest update to their wildly popular hero based shooter, Overwatch and it includes a ton of new looks for some of the most popular characters. Overwatch skins are some of the most sought-after collectibles in gaming, mainly because of their unique nature that not only looks nice but adds more depth to the heroes. Altogether there are 16 new skins for fans to collect and they can all be acquired through the Cosmetic Loot Boxes.

McCree, Reaper, Junk Rat, Symetra, Orisa, Mei, Pharah, Hanzo, and Lucio are all getting new costumes that are not part of a larger set but still look incredible. Blizzard has yet to reveal the name of the new unique looks, although they typically they’re pretty creative.

Meanwhile, Roadhog, Zarya, Torbjorn, Reinhardt, Mercy, and Doomfist are all receiving new skins based on other Blizzard IP’s. The games that the updated skins are referencing include Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft. Fans of these series will all be delighted to see the hard work that went into detailing all of these skins that fit the characters perfectly.

New Skins Preview

Also included in the update is the latest addition to Overwatch’s arenas, Blizzard World. This Disney World like theme park is the newest area where players can test their skills. Blizzard World is home to tons of homages to the game developer’s greatest masterpieces and fans are sure to love all the references.

We’re very excited to try our hand at rolling the newest skins tomorrow (1/23/18)! We’ll be checking out the Overwatch skins update during the Gigamax PowerHour on Tuesday so if you’re interested in seeing what the new update has to offer come stop by or check back after it drops for the video which will be located below.

Fortnite’s Latest Update Expands Map

Epic Games finally dropped the latest 2.2.0 update for Fortnite on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. As the studio detailed previously on their blog, it deals mostly with their very popular Battle Royale mode, adding a newly updated version of the map, pre-game voice chat, and more.

The Largest Expansion Yet

The map updates are the biggest expansion to the free-to-play game. A few new areas have been added to the map, mostly to the west side of the island, which before the update had been somewhat lacking in terms of locations. These areas include a new city section and underground mines. Some existing areas have also received an update, with Epic creating more distinct differences between the various biomes. As lead systems designer Eric Williamson said recently, “The swamp feels swampier, the mountains feel more mountain-y. Really, the different areas of the map feel more unique.” (http://bit.ly/2mE33z8)

Epic also added their new level-streaming system. Although it doesn’t directly have an effect on gameplay, Epic says it “enables a richer map and improved performance.” Console load times have been “greatly reduced” according to the studio and there should be less hitching issues in general. Visual improvements were also been made, with new water, grass, and foliage effects now in place.

Image Source: http://bit.ly/2DOJFrB

Even More New Stuff!

Some other new features include the ability to voice chat in the lobby before you start the game, a neat little update to the killfeed to show how far a sniper rifle kill was, and a reworked version of the Scoped rifle sight. Recently Epic Games took out friendly fire, although this may be a temporary measure as they evaluate what impact it has on the game.

This update is big news for fans of Fortnite. With all of these substantial additions and changes, it seems that Epic Games is focused on quality of life fixes for their Battle Royale experience. The full patch notes for version 2.2.0 are available on the studio’s website and don’t forget to check back with GigamaxGames.com for all the latest information on Fortnite!

Super Meat Boy Sells Extremely Well on Switch

Super Meat Boy, the challenging platformer that released back in 2010 by developer Team Meat, launched for the Nintendo Switch last week and owners of the console love it. The game is off to a great start in terms of sales. The studio took to Twitter saying that first-day sales came “shockingly close” to repeating the games sales numbers from when it launched on Xbox 360 in 2010.

The sequel to Super Meat Boy, Super Meat Boy Forever, is on its way to the Switch in the future according to a Nintendo Direct from last year, and the strong debut for the game is a good sign for the studio. Team Meat joked, “Now I’m pretty excited about Super Meat Boy Forever for the Switch…Imma buy @notch’s house.”

Now I’m pretty excited about Super Meat Boy Forever for the Switch…Imma buy @notch‘s house

To add some context to the above tweet, Notch is the creator of Minecraft, Markus Persson, who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for around $2.5 billion back in 2014. He used some of that to buy a $70 million mansion in Los Angeles, outbidding Jay-Z and Beyonce.

New Mode!

Super Meat Boy for Switch is available now for $15 on the Switch’s digital store. A physical version will hit store shelves later this year. The Switch edition of the game offers a new mode which is a two-player split-screen challenge named “Race Mode.” You can use this mode for individual levels, an assortment of random ones, or the full game, with options for both light and dark.

The amazing story of what Team Meat had to go through to create Super Meat Boy was one of the best parts of the independent film Indie Game: The Movie. The game was developed by The Binding of Isaac’s creators Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes and debuted on Xbox 360 as part of Microsoft’s Game Feast promotion back in October of 2010. It also came out for PS4, PlayStation Vita, and Wii U.